It has been proposed previously to provide seats in a motor vehicle that are mounted in position on rails, or which are adapted to engage a track on the floor of a vehicle and lockable in place by way of a pair of spaced apart plates which may be moved apart to bias the plates in a locking position, as set out in EP1034969.
US2012/0235011 discloses a type of fitting in which studs protrude from the underside of a main body, and may be retracted towards the main body to grip a part of the track. A plunger may then be pushed down into the track through one of the recesses to brace the fitting against longitudinal movement.
However, previously proposed seat mounting systems are relatively complex and require adjustments to be usable in different vehicle types, and are not always capable of being ‘universal’.
FIG. 1 shows a previously disclosed seat support which is adapted to be used with a floor track 1 taking the form of an undercut slot 2, with inward-facing opposing lips 3, 4, as shown schematically in FIG. 1. The lips 3, 4 each have spaced-apart recesses 5 which are curved in shape, and the recesses 5 in the lips 3, 4 are aligned with each other. Protrusions 6 are formed between adjacent recesses 5, and each protrusion 6 forms two shoulders 7, 8, one 7 of which faces in the “forwards” direction (i.e. the normal direction of travel of the vehicle), and the other 8 of which faces in the opposite “backwards” direction.
The seat support of FIG. 1 includes first and second locking portions 9, 10, which are also shown schematically in FIG. 1. When the support is installed and in the locked position, the first locking portion 9 (which is positioned at the front of the support) is braced against a forward-facing pair of shoulders 7, and the second locking portion 10 (which is positioned at the rear of the support) is braced against a rearward-facing pair of shoulders 8. The support is therefore locked longitudinally in place with respect to these shoulders 7, 8, and cannot move forwards or backwards along the track 1.
However, if the second locking portion 10 is not properly locked in place (for instance, because the support has been installed by an inexperienced operator), there is a possibility of failure in the event of a head-on collision. In particular, if the second locking portion 10 does not provide adequate resistance, then in the event of a head-on collision the entire support will tend to move in the forward direction with respect to the track 1. The first locking portion 9 has, as can be seen in FIG. 1, clear space in front of it, and it can slide forward (along with the rest of the support) until it reaches the next pair of rear-facing shoulders 8. This movement is undesirable, but the reader will also understand that if the support slides forwardly so that the first locking portion contacts the rear-facing shoulders, the support will have moved from the “locked” position into a position in which the support may be lifted freely from the track.
The present invention seeks to provide an improved seat support that is more resistant to failure in a crash situation, particularly where the device may have been installed by an inexperienced operator.